THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Azalea Gardens, a post-World War II subdivision in Jefferson Parish, bounded on the north by the rear of properties facing Adolph Street, on the south by Jefferson Highway, on the east by Arnoult Road, and on the west by the rear of properties facing Lauricella Avenue. As one travels west on Jefferson Highway, the presence of the Azalea Gardens neighborhood is heralded first by the Azalea Grill, then by the Azalea Gardens Shopping Center, almost directly across from the East Jefferson Waterworks building (circa 1931).

All 136 double houses in the neighborhood were built in 1947 and 1948 by the Lauricella and Sizeler Co., creating the first all-rental subdivision in the New Orleans area and addressing the postwar housing shortage. A New Orleans States article from March 1948 reads, "Houses for rent? That has been only a fond dream for most householders in the past years during the housing shortage."

World War II veterans got first dibs on the four-room apartments, which rented for $50 to $70 per month.

THE STREET: The 3600 block of Adolph Street on the odd-numbered, or north, side, between Arnoult Road on the east and Lauricella Avenue on the west. The block is almost exactly like every other block in the neighborhood: A row of white cottages with front lawns and screened porches, shaded partially or totally by mature oak trees, planted when the neighborhood was developed.

THE HOUSES: A collection of 11 cottages comprising a mix of the five house types I identify during my ramble. As the 1948 newspaper article said, "Architecture of the doubles is pleasingly varied."

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Come early spring, azaleas display their colorful blooms and oak trees put out their tender new pale green leaves. Even in an area without the harsh winters of the north, this annual rite of spring refreshes and renews the spirit. Wherever you go right now, you will find azaleas blooming their heads off, determined to attract your attention.

I visit the Azalea Gardens neighborhood, curious to see if it lives up to its name. Though I find few azaleas, I discover a wonderful little enclave that exhibits its postwar personality and -- except for the large oaks -- probably looks much as it did in 1948, when it opened. I take a closer look by studying the 3600 block of Adolph Street.

Anatomy of the block

View full sizeThe 3600 block of Adolph Street exhibits five house styles found in the Azalea Gardens subdivision.Photo illustration by R. Stephanie Bruno

In Azalea Gardens, the whole exceeds the sum of its parts. True, the houses themselves are visually appealing, but it is the repetition of house forms and the uniform placement of the houses on their lots that make the collection noteworthy.

Although the south side of the block on Adolph is shaded by the same grand oaks that are prevalent throughout the neighborhood, the north side isn't, making it much easier to get a good look at the cottages and their distinguishing features.

The first house, near the intersection of Adolph and Lauricella, features a pair of screened entry porches, each with a hipped roof. A pair of windows separates the two porches, and a drive on one side leads to a garage in the rear. The home's design is one of five variations that I encounter on my walk.

The unit on the left stands out among others on the block because of its pretty garden, replete with red hibiscus and Indian hawthorn (but no azaleas). I spot more plants and what looks like a wicker chair on the porch inside of the screening.

The second house takes the fundamental plan of the first (two separate entry porches flanking a pair of windows) and tweaks it just a little to add the subtle variety praised in the 1948 newspaper article. In lieu of hipped roofs over the porches, these feature front-gabled roofs that add an element of verticality to the otherwise horizontal scheme. The roof over the main body of the house features gables on the sides, unlike the hips I noted on the first house. The scheme of this house (separate porches with front-gabled roofs) represents the second of the five models repeated along the block and throughout the neighborhood.

I reach a house with a porch in the center, a third variation. The porch is twice the width of the porches on the previous houses, and I can see through the screening a divider in the middle, creating a private porch for each unit. A pair of windows flanks the porch, indicating that the "porch in the middle" houses have a different floor plan than the "separate porches" houses. The hipped roof over the central porch ties in with the roof above the main body of the house.

When I encounter the next "porch in the center" house, it strikes me as taller than the other houses. But then I realize that the gable-fronted roof over the porch creates that illusion by leading my eye upward. I add this scheme to my inventory, the fourth in the collection.

And now for the fifth: A member of the "separate porches" family of designs. Instead of a hipped roof or a front-gabled roof over the porches, this variety features a flat roof. I can't explain how a flat roof (even over a porch) holds up in our rainy climate, but because this variety appears in abundance throughout the neighborhood and at least twice on this block, I conclude that the roof type functions surprisingly well.

Life on the street

Chad New and his sweetheart emerge from one of the "separate porches" houses near the Lauricella Avenue end of the block. She's too busy to visit, trying to make it to work on time, but New indulges me for a minute or two.

I learn that New, 23, is a member of the Air National Guard and that he lives in the apartment with his mother, a nurse at University Hospital. Azalea Gardens has been their home for about three years.

"We lived in Mid-City before we moved here," he says. "I like it here because it's quiet."

Except, perhaps, when there's a birthday party or other such event. That's when the neighbors pull out the barbecue pits, put up the basketball goals and erect giant inflatable "Space Walks" for entertaining guests. New praises his neighbors for their friendliness.

"It's a close-knit group," New tells me. "As a matter of fact, we just came to find out that the person in the house next door is one of my cousins."